You may remember the June 1996 edition of Enter Stage Right telling you
about David Sawatzky. The Alberta farmer was acquitted by Judge Arnold
Connor for selling wheat across the Canada-U.S. border without the permission
of the Canadian Wheat Board. The prestigious Earth is Flat Award was even
given to Ralph Goodale (Federal Agriculture Minister) and the Canadian
government.

Well, it seems that the Canadian government is not yet finished with
its attack on capitalism. The Federal government charged eighteen more
farmers from Saskatchewan and Alberta with exporting wheat without a valid
license. Their trial is scheduled to begin November 21. Many producers
are pressing for an end to the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly and some
have been crossing the Canadian-United States border to sell wheat in
defiance of the law.

The government was not finished with merely charging farmers. In early
July a federal government panel astonishingly found that the Canadian
Wheat Board should continue to be the sole marketer for most classes of
wheat. Only too willing to be the slaves to demand their chains back,
the National Farmers Union supports the continuation of the Wheat Board
believing that farmers earned their best rewards because of the boards
monopoly on grain exports.

July also saw 100 farmers protesting outside of a Brandon, Manitoba jail
to protest the imprisonment of farmer Andy McMechan. McMechan was involved
in protests against the wheat board's monopoly on exports. He was jailed
in mid-July for breaching a bail condition by refusing to turn over his
tractor to Canada Customs.

The only thing that these farmers wish to do is to sell their grain to
the highest bidder. Its called capitalism, the only free interaction
between human beings. The Federal government does not seem to be aware
that by destroying the free exchange of goods it is attacking the very
notion of freedom itself. The only controls needed in capitalism are those
mutually agreed upon by the seller and the consumer.

There is no doubting the ability of the Canadian government to enforce
their whims. People invest in governments a monopoly of force to protect
them from internal and external threats. What is in question is whether
the Canadian government has the moral right to impose something like the
Canadian Wheat Board on farmers and Canadians in general. A majority of
farmers may support the Canadian Wheat Board, but that does not give them
the right to impose it on all farmers.

The Canadian Wheat Board must be dismantled. If some, or most, farmers
wish to use a collective to sell their wheat, that is something that they
should be involved in and not the federal government. The farmers being
persecuted for practicing capitalism are exercising their right to engage
in commerce and that is something that the federal government has no business
being mixed up with.

Support freedom. Support the Eighteen.

And it's not just the government...

According to a recent poll by Environics for the Heart and Stroke Foundation,
the Canadian Cancer Society and the Lung Association, a strong majority
of Canadians want licensed tobacco shops. As with alcohol, tobacco would
only by sold in outlets specifically designated for that purpose. According
to the survey, 70 per cent of Canadians outside of Quebec and 65 per cent of Quebecers
would support something like this.

The poll also found that people were supportive of tax breaks for non-tobacco
companies who support cultural and sporting events , something that tobacco
companies do quite often currently. The three agencies intend on using
these poll results to pressure the federal government to pass harsh new
laws concerning tobacco.

Two things I'd like to remind people of. First, tobacco is an individual
choice. I realize people love to attack the tobacco companies (and I'm
not defending some of their past actions), but people make the choice
to use tobacco themselves. Second, this is still a country of freedom.
The majority does not have the right to decide where a legal product like
tobacco is sold. The majority does not have the right to decide how accessible
something will be, and the majority does not have the right to alter the
market balance through government action.

I like how people want to be free...as long as the other person isn't...